A pink ribbon is the international symbol for breast cancer awareness and is worn to recognize the struggle that sufferers face when battling with the cancer as well as to express support for women and men who are diagnosed with breast cancer.

Worldwide, breast cancer is the second most common type of cancer after lung cancer, and the fifth most common cause of cancer death. Breast cancer is about 100 times as frequent among women as among men, but survival rates are equal in both sexes.

Breast cancer starts in the breast, usually in the inner lining of the milk ducts or lobules. There are different types of breast cancer, with different stages, aggressiveness, and genetic makeup. Treatment includes surgery, drugs (hormone therapy and chemotherapy), and radiation. However, prevention is still the best action.

Cancer prevention is action taken to lower the chance of getting cancer. By preventing cancer, the number of new cases is lowered, lowering the number of deaths caused by cancer as well. Anything that increases your chance of developing cancer is called a cancer risk factor. Some risk factors for cancer can be avoided such as smoking. Changing your lifestyle, with regular exercise and a healthy diet, may be a protective factor for some types of cancer.

Avoiding risk factors and increasing protective factors may help prevent cancer. Click here for more information on risk factors and protective factors.

2 Responses to “Breast Cancer Awareness Month”

This is great. Every little contribution is helpful. The more people like this put into it, the closer we can get to finding cures for things like breast cancer;. Hopefully it is sooner rather than later.